2021 AYRA High Heat Tournament

2021

AYRA High Heat Tournament

Sponsored by

Atholton Youth Recreation Association (AYRA) Baseball

Games to be played at:

Hammond Park 10700 Glen Hannah Drive

Laurel, MD 20723 Hammond Middle School

8100 Aladdin Dr.

Laurel, MD 20723 Schooley Mill Park 12975 Hall Shop Road

Highland, MD 20777 Alpha Ridge Park 11685 Old Frederick Road

Marriottsville, MD 21104 Kiwanis Wallas Park

3300 Norberts Way Ellicott City, MD 21043

Hammond High School 8800 Guilford Road Columbia, MD 21046 Atholton High School

6520 Freetown Road Columbia, MD 21044

Player eligibility:

Teams must carry a copy of their roster and official Birth Certificates or State Identification cards for each of their players, and be able to provide upon request.

For this event, we will be using cutoff dates for the 2021 Spring Season:

9U – Birth Date – 5/1/2011 or younger 10U – Birth Date – 5/1/2010 or younger 11U – Birth Date – 5/1/2009 or younger 12U – Birth Date – 5/1/2008 or younger 13U – Birth Date – 5/1/2007 or younger 14U – Birth Date – 5/1/2006 or younger 15U – Birth Date – 5/1/2005 or younger 18U – Birth Date – 5/1/2002 or younger

Insurance:

Teams must provide a copy of their insurance certificate prior to beginning play. If not provided prior to the start time of your first game, team will forfeit all games until presented.

AYRA must be listed as an additional insurer:

AYRA Baseball, INC.

PO Box 226 Simpsonville, MD 21150

Contact Information

(301) 717-8485 JD Lester (10u) (443) 791-0514 Mark James (11u) (443) 285-2818 Len Petiford (12u) (443) 415-5007

Frank Byrns (13u) (240) 695-3473 Brian Paskill (14u) (443) 542-1542 Brian Pakulla (15u) (410) 340-8666 Phil Mastramico (18u) (410) 365-3111

Umpires:

9u-10u- one umpire for all games; two umpires for all semifinal and championship games 11u + – two umpires for all games

Tournament Format:

3 game minimum.

All teams play 2 pool games on Friday or Saturday; matchups predetermined by blind draw. Pool play schedule will be released no later than Monday prior to the start of the tournament. Pool play results are used to seed teams for Championship Bracket play on Sunday.

Champions and runner-up of all age brackets will receive Tournament Trophies.

Note: Tournament organizers retain the right to adjust tournament format due to number of registered teams and / or weather / field conditions.

Tournament Seeding:

At the conclusion of pool play, teams will be seeded for bracket play based on pool play results. Ties will be broken as follows:

1- Record (ties are permitted in pool play)

2- Head to head (when applicable – will only be used when two teams have same record) 3- Runs allowed

4- Runs scored

5- Least runs allowed in any one game 6- Coin toss

NOTE: In the event that some pool play games are cancelled for inclement weather, bracket seeding will be determined by games completed.

Inclement Weather and Refund Policy

Tournament Withdrawal:

Full refund will be issued to any registered team that needs to withdraw from the tournament up until June 12th, 2021 (two weeks before the start of the tournament). Any team withdrawing after June 13th will forfeit their registration fees.

Refund policy in the case of weather:

0 Games played – Return registration fees minus $100 Tournament administration fee 1 Game played – Return 50% of the registration fee

2+ Games played – No refund

Note: Tournament directors reserve the right to adjust game times, lengths, and locations for weather-related issues.

Pre-Game:

There are batting cages available at Schooley Mill Park (next to fields #1 and #3), Savage Park and Kiwanis Wallas. We ask that you are courteous, quick, and efficient, to allow as many teams to use as possible.

No infield warmup prior to games, to allow our crews time and space to prep the field for the next game. All warm-ups should be conducted in the outfield grass.

On-field Rules:

Unless otherwise specified here, all games will be played under established MABA rules, a copy of which is available here:

https://www.leaguelineup.com/handouts.asp?url=maba Ineligible players:

In the event of a player’s age challenge, game will halt and the manager of that player must present proof of age to the umpire. If a player is found to be ineligible the player will be removed from the tournament and the team would forfeit all games that the ineligible player played in. There will be a

$100 cash deposit paid to age group coordinator prior to challenging a player’s age. If the challenge is upheld the deposit will be returned. If the player’s age is confirmed, the money will be deposited into the general tournament fund. In the event of an age challenge, the tournament director will be notified immediately.

Rosters:

Rosters may be unlimited. However, only 14 rewards will be handed out.

Line-Up Options:

Teams cannot start a game with eight players. Teams may finish a game with eight, but must start with nine players. If less than nine players are available at the start of the game, the result is a forfeit.

All teams have the option of the following lineups:

• Teams may bat 9 batters

• Teams may bat 10 batters, utilizing an Extra Hitter. An (EH) may be used in the batting lineup. If you start with an (EH) you must finish with an (EH), or take an out at that at-bat.

• Teams may bat entire roster. When batting their entire lineup, if a player is unable to bat at any time solely due to an on-field injury, then no out will be called but the player is no longer eligible to play in the rest of the game, offensively or defensively. If a player arrives late, he may be added to the bottom of the order with no penalty. If the batter is skipped due to any other reason other than injury, the team will take one out the first time that player’s at- bat returns in the lineup. No out will be called thereafter.

NOTE: Each team must announce their options when exchanging line-ups with other team at pregame conference with umpire.

Injuries/Substitutions:

If a player is injured and no substitute is available, that spot in the lineup will be skipped with no penalty. If an injury occurs during an at-bat and the player cannot continue the at-bat (i.e. a foul ball off the foot), the next batter in the lineup will take over that at-bat and assume the existing count. If an injury occurs while on the base paths and there are no substitutes available, the player that made the last recorded out will take the place of the injured player on the bases.

Re-Entry / Defensive Substitutions:

Teams may substitute for defensive positions (except pitcher) as many times as they wish, as long as the batting order remains the same. A player does not have to play the field in order to bat.

Conversely, a player does not have to bat to play the field. A substitute is anyone not placed in the batting order. Once a substitution bats or runs for a player, the sub and the original starter are locked into that batting position and either one may bat or run in that position ONLY. These players are in other words married to one another offensively.

Pitching:

• 9u /10u – 3 innings per game

• 11u / 12u – 4 innings per game

• 13u + – none

Once a pitcher is removed from the mound they may not return to pitch in the same game. In 11U, each pitcher is allowed 1 balk warning per game.

Note: There are no per-tournament inning limits.

It is the responsibility of the manager, coaching staff and parents/guardians to monitor the pitch counts and mechanics of players to ensure they are pitching safely. There are significant resources available to all that provide recommendations on pitch limits and rest periods across all age groups.

We highly recommend all teams and parents review those recommendations and follow them for the safety of all.

Sportsmanship:

Poor sportsmanship will not be tolerated by any managers, coaches, score keepers, players, parents or spectators. A warning will be issued after the first offense by the umpire. A second offense will result in immediate ejection of the offender from the game. Anyone ejected will be suspended from

participating in the next game and could face possible expulsion from the next, including the Championship Game. All ejections must be immediately reported to the Tournament Director for evaluation. Any acts of physical aggression towards any official, player or coach will result in

immediate ejection from the premises for the remainder of the tournament. Only the head coach from a team is permitted to approach an umpire or league official to discuss ruling calls. Arguing of judgement call (balls/strikes, out/safe etc…) will not be tolerated and will be considered poor sportsmanship.

Home / Away:

For pool play, home/away will be decided by coin toss at the pregame umpire meeting. In bracket play, the higher seed has the choice of home or away.

Dugouts:

Dugouts are first come first serve, with no distinction for home or away team.

Intentional time delays:

The umpire and tournament director reserve the right to eject any player, coach or fan for intentionally delaying a game.

Courtesy runners:

Coaches are encouraged to use courtesy runners at any time for Pitchers/Catchers to keep the time between innings to a minimum. Courtesy runner is for the Pitcher/Catcher of record. When batting the lineup, the courtesy runner is the player who made the last batted out. When batting less than the lineup, the courtesy runner should be a player not currently in the lineup.

No Protests:

Judgment calls are final. A coach may politely ask the umpire who made the call to clarify a rules interpretation. The umpires on the field will make a final decision on the field. The tournament director can clarify rules but the final decision will rest with the umpire.

Score Reporting:

The home team will be the official scorebook. Immediately following the conclusion of each game, the winner of the game is responsible for texting the score to (301) 537-3972 & (240) 695-3473.

Mercy Rule:

All age groups: 15 runs after 3 Innings (2 ½ if the Home team is ahead); 10 Runs after 4 innings (3 ½ if home team is ahead); 8 runs after 5 innings (4 ½ if home team is ahead).

Headfirst Slides:

Head first slides are allowed to any base (but not recommended) except home plate. Runner is out on a head first slide into home (for player safety). Returning to base on a pick-off attempt is not

considered a head first slide.

Ejections:

Coaches and fans ejected from a game must exit the park immediately and not return for the rest of the tournament. Players may stay with their respective teams in the bleacher area (not bench) but may not participate in the rest of the game plus the next game. In the event this rule is not followed, the associate team will forfeit the rest of the tournament.

Start of Game: All teams are expected to be at the fields ready to play ½ hour before game time.

Please be prepared to start games early if the field and umpire are ready to play.

Field Dimensions:

9/10u: 46-60 11u / 12u: 50-70 13u +: 60-90 Game Length:

All age brackets: 6 innings

No extra innings in pool play. Pool play games can end in a tie.

Complete Game:

Weather-shortened games must complete 3 innings.

Time Limit Pool Play / Bracket Games (other than championships):

No new inning will start after 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Time Limit Championship Game:

None (but may be shortened for darkness).

Leads:

9/10u: No

11u / 12u / 13u / 14u / 16u / 18u: Yes Stealing Bases:

9/10u: Once ball has crossed home plate.

11u / 12u / 13u / 16u / 18u: Yes Dropped 3rd Strike:

9u/10u: No

11u and older: Yes Infield Fly Rule:

All ages: Yes

Run Limit per Inning:

All ages: No Balks:

9u/10u: No

11u: One warning per pitcher 12u and older: Yes

Cleats:

9u through 12u: Rubber cleats only.

13u through 18u: Metal cleats allowed.

Bats:

9u through 13u: All bats must be stamped with either the BBCOR, USA Bat Standard, or USSSA BPF 1.15. There are no other weight or diameter restrictions.

14U and older: All bats must be stamped with the BBCOR.

“B” Level Divisions:

For those teams entering a “B” level division, you are to bring your team and players from your current roster ONLY. We host these “B” level competition tournaments to give teams that do not normally have a chance to win in open divisions an even playing field. Bringing in ringers or aces from your “A” teams or other organizations is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. Bring your team and your team only or do not come. Any team found bringing ringers in will not be accepted to a future tournament.